Former world champion Andy Lee admits he was nervous ahead of Tyson Fury’s clash with Deontay Wilder after coming up with a radical gameplan for his cousin ahead of the world title fight.
Fury stopped Wilder in Las Vegas in January to claim the WBC heavyweight title and both men could meet again in a third meeting after their first fight ended a draw in 2018
Limerick southpaw Lee and Sugar Hill Steward, nephew of Lee’s former Hall of Fame coach Emanuel Steward, worked Fury’s corner in January.
“I was a little bit nervous before the fight because we were so committed to the gameplan that you saw. Everyone thought we were crazy,” said Lee.
“They didn’t believe that Tyson would be so aggressive and take the fight to Deontay. It was a big departure from how he’d fought most of his career.
“He’d always been a boxer. The rematch was clever but in a different way. The consensus was for him to continue doing what he did in the first fight, not suffer knockdowns and win the fight.
“Wilder is the biggest puncher in heavyweight history, so we wanted to stay away from him. But we ran the complete opposite and took it to Wilder.
“It really paid off. It was a satisfying victory because it was against common convention. We believed in it, and it really worked. It was a remarkable performance by Tyson
“Sugar Hill deserves all of the credit. He was the trainer doing the technique work every day. I had my part to play, but it was him doing all the work.”
